Volume 1 Volume 6 Chapter 3

Volume 6 Chapter 3: Divination of the Path (Part 2)

"Shall we do the fortune telling now?"

Hearing Master Jiuhuan’s words, Xu Qingfan looked up in surprise, but found Master Jiuhuan’s deep eyes, although gentle, held an undeniable intensity as he focused on him.

"Fortune telling is for finding answers, but I am not in the mood for it right now, and forcing it may not be accurate."

Xu Qingfan did not want to do the fortune telling in front of Master Jiuhuan, so he politely declined.

"Are you truly without questions?"

"At least I have no questions right now."

"Now that I have no doubts, can the past doubts be resolved? Are there any future doubts?"

Xu Qingfan wanted to reply, but he suddenly realized that debating Zen with Master Jiuhuan, who had studied Buddhist texts for nearly three thousand years and remained ageless, was very unwise. Feeling helpless and not daring to argue, he could only agree. After picking up the turtle shell, he hesitated for a moment and then looked up at Master Jiuhuan and asked, "But may I ask what you wish for me to divine?"

Master Jiuhuan smiled and said, "It is the benefactor who wishes to divine, not the old monk. Why does the benefactor ask me?"

"You clearly asked me to divine, but now you say it is I who wish to divine. It seems you can be unreasonable simply because of your seniority."

Xu Qingfan felt secretly dissatisfied, but his face showed no expression. He followed the divination method he had memorized and began to divine.

"I will soon lead a team to the Southern Wasteland, so I will divine the fortunes of this journey."

Xu Qingfan decided quietly.

Divination, in its essence, means "to observe," and "to divine" involves burning a turtle shell. Cultivators believe that turtles and their kin balance the Heavenly Way. After the shell is burned, they observe the cracks that appear to predict good or bad fortune, and sometimes the diviner can glimpse a moment of the future.

Of course, this is just the general method; true divination is not as simple as just burning a turtle shell. It requires sensing the energy changes in the shell during the fire and allowing one’s mind to merge with the shell to perceive carefully.

"The great number is fifty, and it uses forty-nine; divide it into two to represent two, hang one to represent three, measure it with four to represent the four seasons, return to the wonderful with the count, representing the leap year, five years have two leap years, therefore twice return before hanging."

Xu Qingfan sat cross-legged on the ground, holding the tiny black turtle shell in his hands, murmuring softly.

As he murmured, Xu Qingfan held the fire basin, and the Phoenix Spirit Fire rose from between his hands, shooting up three feet high, swirling endlessly between his hands, while the small black turtle shell rested quietly in the Phoenix Spirit Fire, without making a crackling sound.

Xu Qingfan had already merged his spirit with the turtle shell, carefully ensuring that his mind would not be burned by the fire he released. As tiny cracks began to form in the shell amidst the flames, Xu Qingfan gradually entered a mysterious state. The Heavenly Way universe, past and future, seemed to become clearer in his mind as the cracks widened.

In a moment of haze, an image suddenly appeared in Xu Qingfan’s mind.

Xu Qingfan felt as if he had become an observer, and in his vision, another Xu Qingfan stood before him. A towering black silhouette loomed over him, shrouding his entire body, making him appear incredibly small, like an ant. He sat on the ground, pale-faced, feeling utterly powerless. In the distance, a smiling scholar leisurely clapped, as if watching a show. Farther away were countless corpses piled together like a small mountain, some belonging to demon beasts and others to humans. In a daze, a few of the bodies seemed oddly familiar.

The image moved slowly, but Xu Qingfan felt he had been watching for a long time. The changes in the picture were still minimal; he could see himself gradually standing up, his expression complex, unsure of what he was thinking.

Just as Xu Qingfan wondered what would happen next, a sudden sharp pain struck his mind, realizing that the Phoenix Spirit Fire had begun to burn his spirit. Though he wanted to know what would happen in the next moment, he dared not delay any longer, reluctantly pulling himself away from that mysterious state.

When Xu Qingfan opened his eyes again, he discovered that the Phoenix Spirit Fire between his hands had mysteriously gone out, and the small black turtle shell was now covered in cracks.

After careful observation, Xu Qingfan found that these tiny and dense cracks joined together to form a few ancient characters. In fact, the first writing of all living beings in the world evolved from divination. Xu Qingfan had some knowledge about these characters, yet he could also understand what these few words meant.

"Between good and bad, it depends on one thought; the difference between fortune and misfortune lies in one heart."

These sixteen words, both in meaning and significance, were simple and clear, but as Xu Qingfan recalled the images in his mind, he became even more confused.

"You have a true gift, Master Xu. The first time you peeked into the universe during divination, you could already reach the state of ‘Entering Xuan.’ It’s a joy to celebrate."

The state of "Entering Xuan" means being able to glimpse a moment in the future during divination, just like Xu Qingfan did a moment ago.

Xu Qingfan shook his head slightly, not realizing that he actually had the potential to become a true diviner. Achieving ‘Entering Xuan’ on his first divination made him increasingly confused as he looked at the characters on the turtle shell. He respectfully brought the shell in front of Master Jiuhuan and said, "I don’t quite understand these expressions, please enlighten me, Master."

Master Jiuhuan slowly nodded but did not take the turtle shell from Xu Qingfan’s hands. He softly asked, "Do you understand the difference between the first eight words and the last eight words in these sixteen words?"

Xu Qingfan carefully considered these sixteen words but found that both sentences seemed to have the same meaning, without any difference, so he shook his head in even more confusion.

Master Jiuhuan smiled and explained, "The first sentence is about choice, while the second sentence is about mindset."

Hearing Master Jiuhuan say this, Xu Qingfan finally understood a bit and hesitantly asked, "Do you mean that the matters I have divined, whether they are good or bad, depend on my choices, and after making a choice, whether it brings fortune or misfortune depends on how I see it?"

"That is correct."

Xu Qingfan began to frown in deep thought, while Master Jiuhuan slowly closed his eyes again.

However, between the silence of Xu Qingfan and Master Jiuhuan, the cracks on the black turtle shell in Xu Qingfan’s hands gradually started to heal. By the time Xu Qingfan spoke again, it had returned to its original state.

"I understand. May I ask if you have any more guidance?"

Jiuhuan slowly opened his eyes, and Xu Qingfan suddenly noticed that Jiuhuan’s movements were even slower than those of the person he had seen in the earlier scene.

"No more. You may go back, but please remember what I just said: The number of change is fifty, with forty-nine being fixed, but there is one variable, and that variable lies in each person’s choices and thoughts on the path. I hope you will keep this in mind."

"I understand."

Xu Qingfan stood up, tucked the black turtle shell into his clothes, and once again bowed respectfully to Master Jiuhuan before slowly backing away.

After leaving Master Jiuhuan’s bamboo house, Xu Qingfan originally wanted to go to the alchemy room to see how the spirit pills he had made turned out. But then he thought, if the alchemy was successful, someone would definitely come to tell him. The lack of news meant that the alchemy was not yet finished. Going to the alchemy room now would only cause trouble, so he gave up that idea and flew back to his courtyard.

※※※※

"What on earth is this old guy Jiuhuan thinking about?"

An hour later, Mr. Liu held the divination tortoise shell crafted by Master Jiuhuan and muttered to himself.

For the past few years, after the twelve masters had captured the Four Mythical Beasts, they had been staying at the top of "Ronghua Mountain," not knowing what they were doing. Even when there was a battle with the demon beasts, at least four masters remained at the mountain top. Each time they returned from the mountain, the masters looked tired, referring to the dangerous battles with the demon beasts as "rest."

Today was Mr. Liu’s rest time, and it was a complete rest because the demon beasts had gathered. He did not go out to lead the lower-level cultivators to battle the demon beasts. With nothing to do, he came to Xu Qingfan’s courtyard to chat with him and happened to meet Xu Qingfan returning with newly acquired magical tools and spirit items.

Mr. Liu first admired the five magical tools and the "Ice Spirit Jade Pendant" crafted by Old Beggar for Xu Qingfan, praising the skills of Old Beggar and the other masters. However, being well-informed, he couldn’t help but think about how he had given so many materials to Xu Qingfan, and yet Old Beggar had only made these few magical tools. It was clear he had wasted materials.

When Xu Qingfan handed the black divination tortoise shell made by Master Jiuhuan to Mr. Liu for his evaluation, Mr. Liu’s expression changed immediately as he looked at the shell in Xu Qingfan’s hand. He snatched the shell from Xu Qingfan and observed it closely for a long time, then quietly asked himself.

Seeing Mr. Liu’s serious expression, Xu Qingfan felt puzzled and asked, "Senior, what’s wrong?"

Mr. Liu shook his head in disbelief and then turned to Xu Qingfan to explain, "This divination turtle shell is not like the usual ones. It uses an ancient method, which means this shell can only be used to predict the future three times."

"What?"

Xu Qingfan was very surprised to hear this. The shell of the "Snow Jade Spirit Turtle," the highest-ranked beast from North Iceland, could only be used for three predictions? Even a regular turtle shell could be used for more than ten times. Did Master Jiuhuan make a mistake while making it?

It is important to know that each divination turtle shell can only be used by one cultivator because it relates to the secrets of the future. Each cultivator can only own one shell in their lifetime, which means that before Xu Qingfan reaches the Great Ascension stage, he can only use it three times. If he uses all three before reaching the Mahayana Stage, he will no longer be able to use a divination shell after that to help predict the future. It is important to note that predicting the future on your own can lead to mistakes and being misled by powerful beings, so the divination shell is essential during such predictions.

Giving this shell to Xu Qingfan was a clear plan, so it is no wonder he was so shocked.

Seeing the look of disbelief on Xu Qingfan’s face, Mr. Liu explained, "It’s not what you think. Jiuhuan didn’t fail at making this divination shell; he used an ancient method, sacrificing the shell’s long-lasting nature to ensure its accuracy. A shell made this way allows divination to more easily reach the ‘Entering Xuan’ state, and the visions seen in this state are clearer. Most importantly, this type of shell is harder to be deceived by powerful beings during predictions."

No wonder Xu Qingfan could enter the ‘Entering Xuan’ state on his first try at divination. He thought he had a special talent, but it was really because of the shell.

Xu Qingfan nodded thoughtfully, understanding, but he didn’t know why Master Jiuhuan wanted him to use it and waste one chance. Why did he force this shell on Xu Qingfan? Did he see something and want Xu Qingfan to catch a glimpse of the future without letting him see too much?

Xu Qingfan did not understand.

Mr. Liu did not understand either, so after thinking hard and finding no answer, he angrily flew to Master Jiuhuan to ask him why he was plotting against Xu Qingfan here.

Naturally, Xu Qingfan did not dare to get involved in the argument between Mr. Liu and Master Jiuhuan, so he stayed in his own courtyard.

Master Jiuhuan held such a high position that even though Xu Qingfan had become a hero of the Righteous Alliance, he could only feel anger without speaking up about this scheme. Under Master Jiuhuan’s seemingly all-seeing eyes, Xu Qingfan didn’t even dare to show his anger.

Ever since the introduction by Mr. Liu to Master Jiuhuan, Xu Qingfan felt a deep sense of awe towards Jiuhuan for some reason.

So at this moment, he could only feel both angry and helpless.

Looking at the black turtle shell in his hands, Xu Qingfan stared blankly for a long time. Suddenly, he thought of something, gritted his teeth, and showed a determined expression. Sitting down, he held the turtle shell with both hands, and suddenly the Phoenix Spirit Fire surged up again.

This time, Xu Qingfan intended to predict his future!